


How I Loved You

by Quingy



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Best Friends, Canon-Typical Violence, Drinking & Talking, Drinking Games, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, Falling In Love, Friendship/Love, Grief/Mourning, Humor, Love, Plothole Fill, Sex, Slow Romance, Team Bonding, Teasing, Vaginal Fingering, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-31
Updated: 2016-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-12 05:04:45
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4466438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Quingy/pseuds/Quingy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the hard missions, Shepard always has her crew to lean on, and one person in particular. A collection of Shakarian moments throughout the series. Includes all members of the Normandy Crew; drinking, fighting, and other bonding.</p>
<p>Works alongside in-game canon until the end of ME2, giving the Garrus romance (and the rest of the Normandy Crew) more of a presence in Shepard's day-to-day life. Features much drinking and sass. </p>
<p>I promise a fun read that stays true to the characters until the end.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. After Virmire

**Author's Note:**

> I personally think the small moments in a relationship are important, and am writing this to represent the little moments after the more emotional missions where Shepard and Garrus are there for each other. I will be working with the canon Garrus romance, so no sex until the suicide mission in ME2, but I will stretch their relationship a bit so they are more of a couple than just friends who decide to have sex.

  **THE NIGHT AFTER VIRMIRE**

 

It was so quiet. It made Shepard uneasy. She had teased Tali for being unable to sleep on the Normandy, but now she faced the same problem. When you grew up on the streets of a big city, you were used to noise. Quiet meant something was wrong.

 _Something_ is _wrong_ , Shepard thought. She stood up from her desk, activating the door to her cabin with a soft _whoosh_. The living quarters were empty at this time of night, the lights had been lowered to simulate a day-night cycle the same way they did on large space stations like the Citadel. The sleeper pods glowed softly, the crew members had already turned in.

Shepard found herself moving to Kaidan's control panel, and running her hands across it, slowly, reverently. She exhaled sharply, stepping back until she hit the wall and sliding down it to end up sitting on the floor. Her hair was tied back in her usual tight, military bun and it was uncomfortable against the steel wall so she reached up to pull it loose, letting the dark tendrils fall down around her face.

She pulled her knees in and rested her head against them, closing her eyes. She heard the hum of the elevator and knew someone was coming, but was reluctant to move.

 _You are Commander Shepard,_ she thought. _You cannot let them see you like this._

She heard the elevator open even as she stood up, reluctantly moving towards the tables. _Who is still up?_ she wondered.

Garrus rounded the corner and she breathed a soft sigh of relief. Relief that it had not been Ashley. Garrus noticed her reaction, and approached her. “You alright, Commander?” he asked, his blue eyes took in her loose hair, strained expression.

She thought about lying to him, but really there was no point. “I couldn’t sleep,” she admitted. “It’s too quiet.”

Garrus’ mandibles flexed as he nodded thoughtfully. He pulled out a chair at the table, and Shepard sat. Garrus sat down beside her. “Do you want to talk about today?” he asked.

 _No,_ she thought. Her dark fingers twisted together in agitation on the table, and she stared at them, avoiding his gaze.

Garrus stood up, and she turned to him in surprize. “I’ll be right back,” he reassured her.

She watched as he walked into the med bay, the door closing behind him with a soft _whoosh._ He reappeared a minute later carrying a bottle and a glass. “I overheard the Doctor mention some brandy stashed in her desk,” he explained.

He set a glass in front of her and Shepard watched as he poured her a drink, fascinated as ever with the dexterity of his delicate three-fingered hands. He sat down and gestured for Shepard to drink.

She took a long drink, draining the glass. When she set it down, Garrus dutifully refilled it, his eyes on her. “I left him to die,” she said softly.

Garrus handed her the refilled glass. “To Kaidan,” he said in a low voice.

“To Kaidan,” she echoed, once more draining the contents.

“You did all you could, Shepard,” Garrus told her as he refilled her glass. The bottle was half empty, now.

“Did I?” she said doubtfully. “It feels like I killed him, Garrus. I ordered him to set a bomb and stay there until it detonated.”

“You would have gone back for him if you could have,” Garrus said. “We all know that.”

Shepard’s eyes stung and she blinked back the tears. Garrus wrapped his long fingers around hers and her breathing hitched. She brought her eyes to his as he said, “We believe in you, Shepard. I believe in you. Kaidan did too.”

Shepard pulled her hand away. “Kaidan is dead,” she said stiffly, and returned to her room.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am one of those people who has nothing against Kaidan or Ashley, but I honestly believe Kaidan is always in love with Shepard regardless of how you play them and decided Ashley was a better fit.


	2. Beating Saren

**THE NIGHT BEFORE ILOS**

           Shepard rode the elevator down to the garage, nervously tapping her fingers on the side of her leg. The elevator eventually opened, and she stepped off. The hum of the engine was louder down here, though still amazingly quiet for a ship this size. Her crew were at their stations, Garrus checking over the Mako, Wrex doing whatever it was he did, standing by the lockers. She passed him with a nod. “Shepard,” he grunted.

           “Wrex,” she replied.

            Ashley was dismantling and cleaning an assault rifle, and as Shepard approached she tossed one of the pieces aside in frustration. She sighed deeply and rubbed a hand across her face. “Sorry, Skipper,” she apologized. “I just…”

            “It’s alright,” Shepard said.

            Ashley turned towards her and Shepard fought the urge to look away. _I’m just making sure this bomb goes off. No matter what._

            “Are you doing ok, Ash?” Shepard asked hesitantly.

            It was awkward between them now, where before they had been close. Both women looked at the other and felt the weight of Kaidan’s death. Felt the guilt.

            “I’m fine,” Ashley said. “Did you need something?”

            “I just wanted to let you know… I’m going to take Liara with Garrus and I to Ilos,” Shepard told her.

           Ashley’s eyes narrowed and she looked away, back to the assault rifle. “That makes sense, Skipper,” she said, “taking the Prothean expert to the Prothean ruin.”

            _I’m sorry,_ Shepard thought. _I can’t lose you too._  “Dismissed, Chief,” she said.

            Ashley nodded absently, “Ma’am.”

            Shepard had just gotten on the elevator when Garrus joined her. “Leaving Ashley behind tomorrow?” he asked as the elevator doors closed and they began the slow ascent.

            Shepard sighed. “It’s not a big deal,” she said.

            “No,” he agreed. “Except that when you had to take Liara to find her mom on Noveria, you complained the entire time because you had to leave Ashley behind, and because Liara wasn’t used to working with us.”

            “Ilos is a Prothean ruin, Garrus,” Shepard argued. “Bringing Liara makes sense.”

            The elevator doors opened and Shepard got off. She turned around to see that Garrus was still on the elevator. “Of course it makes sense,” he agreed. “You’d never go soft on us, Shepard.”

            Shepard spluttered indignantly as the elevator doors began to close and she heard Garrus chuckle.

 

 

**ON THE CITADEL**

_I should have brought Ashley,_ Shepard thought for the hundredth time as they fought the skeletal reincarnation of Saren. When Ilos had been full of geth, she had regretted not bringing Ashley. When Liara had loosed a singularity a _little_ too close to Garrus in her inexperience, and ended up ripping away the crate he was taking cover behind and exposing him to hostile fire, Shepard had regretted not bringing Ashley.

            Now they were fighting in a garden with little cover. Garrus was attempting to stay behind one of the large pillars while Liara tried to distract the thing that used to be Saren by pelting it with various biotic abilities. Shepard moved in with her pistol, her biotic barrier taking a beating.

            It went downhill very fast. Liara was beginning to tire after hours of tossing about geth with her biotics, and her attacks slowed enough that Saren hit Shepard with an attack that overheated her gun and ruptured her barrier, leaving her vulnerable. Garrus charged out from behind cover, firing his pistol at Saren as he tried to get to Shepard. Saren hit Garrus with several blasts of plasma, and leaped from the wall to tackle Liara, knocking her pistol out of her hand.

            Shepard dove across the room and scooped up Liara’s pistol, charging a biotic attack even as she steadily shot Saren in the head. He had just leapt towards her when her singularity unleashed, and she fired the gun until it overheated in her hand and Saren’s body disintegrated, the ashes floating in the pull of the small black hole.

            Shepard managed to take several steps towards where Garrus was lying, injured, before the cost of the singularity on top of the day's fighting caught up to her and she blacked out.

 

 

**ON THE NORMANDY**

“Does anyone happen to know what happened to my last bottle of Serrice Ice Brandy?” Dr. Chakwas asked.

            Shepard and Garrus' eyes met, then darted away from each other. Karin sighed and lowered herself into one of the seats at the table. Joker handed her a bottle from his stash and she smiled.

            “Anyone bring any Ryncol?” Wrex asked.

            “I brought Turian brandy,” Garrus said. “Triple filtered,” he added to Tali.

            “I don’t know…” she said hesitantly. “Quarians aren’t big drinkers.”

            “We took down a Reaper!” Joker exclaimed. “Everybody should be drinking!”

            “I could certainly use a drink,” Liara sighed.

            Ashley pulled out a bottle of Canadian whiskey and smiled at Shepard. “I found this in Kaidan’s things,” she said.

            Garrus looked at Shepard, gauging her response. Shepard smiled. “Who has the glasses?”

           

            As the evening wore on, Shepard was glad to find herself seated between Garrus and Ashley. “I missed you today,” she said to Ashley. “I was wrong to leave you behind.”

            Ashley refilled Shepard’s drink with more of the whiskey, which Shepard found she was fond of. “I know you wouldn’t leave me behind when it counted, Skipper.”

            “…so Liara,” Garrus explained to the group loudly. “Places the singularity right beside this crate, but unfortunately, that crate was what I had been using for cover!” There was a roar of laughter.

            Liara buried her face in her hands. “Goddess,” she muttered. “I’m so sorry.”

            “You should have seen Shepard’s face!” Garrus continued. “I thought she was going to throw her to the geth.”

            “She wouldn’t!” Tali gasped, scandalized, and more than a little drunk.

            “I don’t know,” Joker laughed. “I wouldn’t want to be the one to put Garrus in danger when Shepard’s around….”

           Shepard, mortified, shot Joker a death glare that only made him laugh. Ashley covered for Shepard smoothly, “Garrus puts _himself_ in danger. What kind of sniper charges into the middle of a fight the way you do? I always have to pull your Turian-ass out of there. It’s not Liara’s fault she’s not used to you.”

            Garrus chuckled. “Someone has to watch Shepard’s back.”

            “I’m sure you enjoy that,” Ashley teased, and just like that the attention had shifted from Shepard. She shot Ashley a grateful look.

            “Tell us about the fight with Saren!” Wrex growled, slamming his fist on the table.

            Chakwas nodded, “The state you were in when you got back to the ship: it must have been quite the battle.”

            Garrus leaned back in his seat, and as he did he put his arm around Shepard’s chair. “We survived,” he said.

            Shepard shook her head, rolling her eyes. “Yeah, Garrus’ armour looks better with that chunk melted away, anyway.”

            The others laughed and Liara proceeded to explain how she had needed to drag Garrus out of the way of falling debris. Garrus leaned closer, “I’d take a blast of plasma for you, any day.”

 

 

 

       

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't mean for Liara to come off as incompetent, I actually like her. It just occurred to me with her lack of experience using her biotics in combat with others, that if you didn't frequently take her with Shepard, she might not be the best at working with you. 
> 
> Next chapter: Mass Effect 2!


	3. Working for Cerberus

**BEFORE OMEGA**

 

The new Normandy was like her new body. Sleek and efficient and objectively better, but Shepard always found herself longing for the little things. She missed her little COs cabin from the SRI, with the small desk and the hard bed. She missed the scar through her eyebrow she had gotten on Elysium; the one Anderson had always said made her a real soldier. She missed the slow elevators, which took so long you would get impatient. She missed her eye-colour, because despite no one else noticing, she knew that since they had brought her back to life her eyes had been a different, darker, redder shade of brown.

            Shepard did not like Jacob; he kept pushing her to trust him while at the same time becoming irritated whenever she tried to get to know him. She found Kelly naïve and Mess Sergeant Gardner grating. Miranda was cold to her, despite Shepard’s best attempts to befriend her. The two engineers were friendly, but made Shepard feel like a third wheel. The AI stalking her creeped her out, and Joker was constantly bickering with it when she visited him.

            That meant Shepard had spent the first few days of her time here either alone in her cabin (well, as alone as she could be with the AI always watching), or visiting Dr. Chakwas in the med bay.

            She missed Garrus. And Ashley. And Wrex. She even missed Liara, and the asari’s weird flirtation. Tali had seemed sad that she could not come with her, but what could Shepard expect? It had been two years.

            _Two years._

“EDI?” she asked hesitantly, as she sat alone in her cabin. The glowing blue AI popped into existence near the fish tank.

            “Yes, Shepard?” she asked pleasantly.

            “Can I send a message to someone?”

            “If you wish, Shepard, though be aware that the Illusive Man would prefer that your existence remain a secret and our goals a mystery.”

            Shepard hesitated. “And that means?”

            “Exercise discretion,” EDI replied.

            “Are my messages monitored by the Illusive Man?” Shepard asked suspiciously. “Or you?”

            “I have a block that prevents me from answering that question,” the AI replied.

            Shepard sighed. “Thanks, EDI.”

            The AI vanished with a soft beep, and Shepard moved over to her private terminal. She did not know if he would still use the same address as he had two years ago, or if he would receive this message, but she had to think that if Garrus knew she was alive, he would find her.

 

 

            **AFTER OMEGA**

 

With Garrus back on the ship, Shepard felt more like herself than she had since she had been revived. Unfortunately, it did not seem he felt the same. There was more anger and bitterness to him than there had been before.

            It was late one night when Shepard was attempting to fall asleep when EDI woke her. “Shepard, Officer Vakarian is down in the cargo hold. You might want to check on him.”

            “The cargo hold?” Shepard yawned. “Why is he down there?”

            “He was drinking earlier,” EDI informed her. “Then he said something about a Mako and went looking for one.”

            Shepard climbed out of bed, not bothering to change out of her sleepwear. She hated the Cerberus uniforms, anyway. “Did you tell him we don’t have a Mako anymore?” she asked as she headed for the elevator.

            “I was hoping his behaviour would escalate, so I could take notes,” the AI told her. At Shepard’s dubious glare she added, “That was a joke.”

            “Stupid AI with a sense of humour,” Shepard muttered as she rode the elevator down to the cargo hold. She stepped off of the elevator and immediately crossed her arms, it was cold down here.

            Garrus was banging around near the shuttle. “Garrus?” Shepard asked.

            “Shepard!” he exclaimed when he saw her, his mandibles flexing wide as he moved towards her. “I thought of a great upgrade for the Mako! We could add spikes to the wheels, and then when you drive over things—the way you always do—it will crush them! What do you think?”

            “Garrus…” Shepard said cautiously. “We don’t have the Mako anymore.”

            Garrus blinked at her and she saw the denial in his blue eyes, even as she smelled the brandy coming off his breath. The new scars across his face were still fresh, and looked painful. Shepard had the urge to stroke his face, standing as close as they were.

            "Your eyes...they're different," he said, slowly, studying her closely.

            "That's what I kept saying but no one would believe me!" Shepard exclaimed.

            Garrus sighed, seeming to sober up in her presence. "We don't have the Mako anymore," he repeated.

            "No," she agreed.

            He reached out to touch her face and she froze, shocked as he stared into her eyes. "So many things have been lost. I'm glad you're not one of them," he whispered.

 

 

            **AFTER HORIZON**

 

          Shepard felt dirty. They had returned from Horizon and she had gone to her cabin to take a long shower. But this was not the kind of thing you could wash off.

_I don't trust Cerberus, and it worries me that you do._

         Shepard did not trust Cerberus. She had no choice but to work with them. How could you trust allies who spy on your messages; allies who have "hidden monitoring devices"? The AI following her around was bad enough.

_I would have followed you anywhere._

         Shepard stayed in the shower for a long time, but she never felt any cleaner.

 

 

        Hours later EDI popped up with a message while Shepard was looking over datapads, seated on her couch. "Shepard, Officer Vakarian is here to see you."

        Shepard sighed. "Let him in," she said.

        She had not bothered to return to her on duty outfit, so when Garrus arrived and the elevator door opened with the soft chime and a _whoosh_ it was the second time recently he got to see her in her sleepwear, with her hair down.

        "I brought you dinner," he said, setting down two plates, one extra-large biotic ration, on her coffee table. "Gardner mentioned you never came down."

        "Thank you," she said, and meant it. She was starving but would have gone all night without food rather than have to deal with the sight of the Cerberus personnel right then.

        Garrus nodded and sat down, beginning to eat his own dextro-rations. EDI turned on some music and Shepard sighed, making Garrus chuckle.

         "Not a fan of EDI?" he asked.

         "If the music if not to your liking, Shepard," EDI said, "I apologize."

         "It's fine, EDI," Shepard replied. "Could you maybe...leave us alone? Or as alone as you're able to leave us?"

         "As you wish, Shepard. Logging you out."

         Shepard sighed with relief, relaxing into the couch. "I'm sure there are cameras in here, but I just..."

         "Need a break?" Garrus guessed.

         "Yes."

         "It's a lot. Working for Cerberus. Ash..."

         Shepard dropped her face into her hands, and felt Garrus move around the couch until he was beside her.

         "It'll be alright," he said.

         She curled up against his chest and he ran his slender fingers through her loose hair.

         "Ashley’s my best friend," Shepard whispered. "My best friend doesn't trust me anymore."

         "She'll come around eventually," Garrus said.

         Shepard asked, "Why did you agree to this? Why are you working with Cerberus? You even noticed my eyes have changed..."

         "Only the colour. Not the woman behind them," Garrus corrected.

         "That's not really an answer," Shepard pressed.

         Garrus sighed. "Ashley fights for the Alliance, Shepard. But ever since we met, I've been fighting for you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly, I adore EDI's trolling. However, Shepard is in *no mood* for your shit, EDI.  
> Ok! Next up is some fun times with the whole squad. I promise! So stick around!


	4. Shepard vs Vakarian

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my personal favourite chapter so far, I hope you enjoy.

**AFTER ILLIUM**

 

        “EDI,” Shepard said as she stepped out of her shower. “Can you invite Garrus and Tali up?”

        “Yes, Shepard,” EDI said. There was a pause and Shepard knew EDI was going to say something else. “Would you like me to wait until you get dressed, Shepard?”

        “Just ask them to bring me food,” Shepard said. “That should take a few minutes.”

        “As you wish, Shepard.”

        When Tali and Garrus arrived with dinner, Shepard was dressed in the only outfit she had that did not have the Cerberus insignia on it. Her wet hair was pulled back haphazardly from her face.

       “Garrus says you saw Liara on Illium?” Tali said, dropping onto Shepard’s couch. “How is she?”

       Shepard thought of how detached and angry Liara had been. Nothing at all like the naïve and inexperienced girl she had known. “She’s…different.”

       “Reminded me of her mother,” Garrus said, handing Shepard her large plate of food and sitting beside Tali.

       “Her mother was indoctrinated,” Tali replied skeptically.

       “Not the whole time,” Garrus pointed out, “She was a formidable woman.”

       Shepard took a bite of her food as the two of them spoke. “Did either of you know she was the one to give my body to Cerberus?” she asked.

       Shepard was sure Tali’s glowing eyes widened behind her mask. “Are you sure, Shepard? Why would she do that?”

      Shepard opened her mouth to reply when Garrus said, “Because she loves her. And Cerberus brought her back.”

      Tali turned to him. “We all missed Shepard—and having you back is _wonderful_ —but Garrus, giving her to _Cerberus_? Why would she have trusted them?”

      “It worked,” Shepard said numbly. “They brought me back.”

      “They did,” Garrus agreed. “Liara did the right thing.”

 

            **AFTER SIDONIS**

“Shepard,” Garrus complained. “Really, I’d rather just go back to the Normandy.”

            The persistent beat of Dark Star Lounge’s music was audible from most of level 28 of the Zakera Ward. Shepard ignored Garrus. “Well Tali and I want to go dancing. Isn’t that right, Tali?” she asked.

            “Ummm…” the quarian said hesitantly. Shepard shot her a look and Tali laughed. “Sure, Shepard.”

            When they entered the club, the Turian bartender waved them over. “Hey! If it isn’t my favourite customer! How are you feeling after last time? Ready for some more Ryncol? I got some hanar mindfish imported in just for you! Want to try some? It’ll be in your system for days.”

            Garrus gave Shepard a skeptical look and Tali chuckled. Neither of them had been with her the first time she had visited this bar, shortly after she had been revived. It had been Miranda and Jacob who had needed to pick her up off the bathroom floor.

            “Not today, thanks,” she said, and the bartender failed to conceal his disappointment. “It’s my friend here who needs to get wasted,” she added, clapping Garrus on the back.

            “Really, Shepard,” Garrus began, “I’m fi—”

            “If you tell me you’re fine again, I’ll force feed you some mindfish and leave you in a room with Jack,” Shepard threatened.

            Garrus’ mouth closed with an audible click of his sharp teeth. “You know her tattoos give me a headache…” he grumbled.

            “If I had to shoot a friend today, even one who betrayed me, I would definitely not be fine,” Shepard said. “You don’t have to talk about it, but you _are_ getting drunk, and we _are_ dancing.”

            Garrus and Tali looked at each other. “In public?” Garrus asked.

            “That seems harsh, Shepard,” Tali added mischievously. The quarian had developed rather a lot of sass over the past two years.

            “If you prefer,” Shepard suggested innocently, “I could invite Miranda to join us.”

            “You wouldn’t!” Tali exclaimed.

            “Try me.”

            Tali sighed and turned to the bartender. “Two shots of something strong and dextro-friendly, one extra filtered,” she ordered.

            “Ryncol for me,” Shepard added. At Garrus’ skeptical look she said, “What? These Cerberus upgrades came with a ridiculous metabolism.”

            Many hours later, after many more drinks and a lot of dancing, Garrus and Shepard collapsed at a table. Tali was visible in the center of the dance floor, having attracted more than a few admirers to her, though she seemed to prefer to dance alone.

            “I didn’t know she could dance,” Shepard admitted.

            “We can’t all be as graceful as Commander Shepard,” Garrus laughed. “But some of us manage.”

            “You dance the same as me!” Shepard accused.

            Garrus reached out and patted her hand. “There, there,” he whispered. “It’s ok.”

            Shepard laughed and Garrus’ eyes twinkled drunkenly. “Thanks, Shepard,” he said seriously.

            “What for?”

            He entwined his fingers with hers on the table. “For being here.”

            Shepard grinned at him. “It’s no big deal,” she teased. “I’d come back from the dead for you, any day.”

            “I’ll hold you to that,” he swore.

            She laughed.

 

            **AFTER THE COLLECTOR SHIP**

 

_No soul, replaced by tech._

            Shepard found herself once again alone, locked in her cabin. This time she wrote a message to Ashley.

            _Hey, Ash,_

_I miss you. I hate working for Cerberus, and I hate not having you at my side._

_I don’t have a choice here. Someone has to do something about the Collectors and if I don’t, no one else will._

_I’m starting to feel like this might be more dangerous than I expected. If something happens to me again, I want you to know I don’t blame you for walking away. I don’t recognize myself these days, either._

_Stay safe,_

_Skipper._

“Shepard,” EDI’s voice startled Shepard sometimes, when she tricked herself into thinking she was actually alone. “The crew is looking for you. They are waiting for you in the Port Observation room.”

            “Fine,” Shepard said with a sigh. She rode the elevator down to the crew deck, and turned right. When she entered the lounge where Kasumi had made her home, she found it packed with her squad.

            Kasumi, Thane, Samara, Jacob and Miranda were seated on the L-couch. Joker was sitting in the white oval chair by the bar. Tali and Garrus were standing by the window, while Mordin was studying the artwork Kasumi had displayed and muttering about the technique. Jack and Zaaed were behind the bar, pouring drinks, while Grunt stood on the opposite end impatiently stomping his feet and demanding they hurry up.

            “Shepard!” Grunt exclaimed when he noticed her.

            “When EDI said my crew was waiting for me here,” Shepard said, looking around at the crowded room. “I didn’t quite expect all of you.”

            “Neither did I,” Kasumi complained. “I invited Tali and Garrus.”

            “I overheard Tali saying she was going to the bar,” Jack said.

            “I followed Jack!” Grunt added loudly.

            “I figured I could use a drink,” drawled Zaeed.

            “The crowd of them coming up from the engineering deck was quite loud,” Samara said mildly. “I investigated, since the chances of continuing meditation were quite low.”

            “As did I,” said Thane softly.

            “I asked EDI what all the stomping around was,” Miranda explained irritably. “As it made getting any work done impossible.”

            “EDI invited me,” Joker threw in. “Though why the AI was the one to invite me, I can’t understand. I’m hurt, guys. _Hurt_.”

            “Yes,” Mordin added in his usual rapid-fire manner. “Was invited by EDI as well.”

            Shepard looked at Jacob. “Oh, no one invited me,” he said. “I came to talk to Kasumi…”

            “Well, EDI, seems like you arranged most of this,” Shepard said to the AI, who had popped up in the corner.

            “Yes, Shepard. My metabolic scans determined you were extremely stressed and upset. Your usual reaction is to stay in your cabin, alone. This seemed a suitable alternative.”

            “EDI…”

            Miranda stood up. “The Illusive man just lured us into a trap. Even I can understand why Shepard might be more upset than usual.”

            “Also Collector-Prothean revelation,” Mordin added. “Extremely disturbing.”

            “I’ve got an idea,” Jack said. “How about instead of talking about our feelings, we get hammered?”

            “Yeah!” Grunt agreed. “Got any Ryncol?”

 

            That was how, after much grumbling from Miranda, they all ended up in the cargo bay several hours later.

            "I'll even let you choose first," Shepard said.

           "I want to be on Shepard's team!" Grunt yelled, stomping his feet in agitation.

           Shepard grinned at Garrus smugly. The turian did not look deterred. He surveyed the group of companions before saying, "I'll take Mordin."

 _Damn_ , Shepard thought. She had wanted Mordin. "Fine," she said easily. "I choose Grunt."

          "YES!" the Krogan yelled enthusiastically.

          "Zaeed," Garrus countered.

          "Jack," Shepard said.

          Garrus nodded like he had expected as much. "Samara," he replied.

          "Thane," Shepard said.

          Garrus was thoughtful. "Tali."

          "Kasumi."

            Garrus gave her the turian equivalent of a smirk. "Miranda," he said.

 _Goddamnit_ , Shepard thought. That left... "Jacob," she sighed.

            “No weapons. If you get knocked down for over a minute, you’re out,” Garrus suggested.

            “What about biotics?” Shepard asked.

            Garrus looked at her, and her team. They had a clear advantage if he said yes. “Of course, biotic and tech abilities are what makes it fun,” he agreed.

            Jack laughed. “We got this in the bag, Shepard.”

            “Let’s do it already!” Grunt demanded impatiently. Shepard and Garrus nodded and their two teams split off to separate sides of the cargo hold, to take cover behind the crates.

             Joker was seated near the elevator, spectating. EDI popped up beside him. “The odds of beating Shepard in a combative contest are astronomically low,” she said.

            “Yeah, _obviously_ ,” Joker replied dismissively. “Has anyone ever told you you’d make a terrible bookie?”

            Joker yelled for them to begin, and Jack started by immediately unleashing a shockwave that tossed the crates aside and would have hit the other team if not for Samara who leapt to meet it. The two biotics struggled to overpower each other, and Shepard moved to Jack’s side, unleashing her own shockwave.

            “Focus on Grunt!” Garrus yelled to his team. “We need to take him out first!”

            “We should focus on Shepard!” Miranda argued.

            “Shepard doesn’t regenerate,” Garrus replied. “Does she…?”

            While this debate went on, Grunt had charged across the cargo hold towards Samara, and Thane tossed Garrus and Miranda into some crates with his biotics.  Grunt was interrupted by a cryo blast from Mordin, which temporarily froze him in place. Kasumi had vanished, and reappeared behind Mordin, hitting him with her shadow strike followed by a flashbang grenade which stunned the other team.

            Tali’s combat drone had already been activated, and it managed to stun Kasumi before she could get away. Jacob pulled a crate onto the combat drone and it vanished.

            Jack and Shepard together, combined with Kasumi’s flashbang grenade, managed to blast Samara back hard enough that she flew across the room. Miranda, getting back up, hit Grunt--still frozen from Mordin--with her biotics and he toppled over.

            “Samara and Grunt are down!” Joker called out from the sidelines.

            “Shepard’s team is clearly in the lead,” EDI added.

            Zaeed threw an inferno grenade that Jack caught with her biotics and threw back at the other team, as Garrus and Miranda managed to coordinate their offence and both attacked Shepard, Garrus with an overload, Miranda warping Shepard’s biotics.

            As Shepard staggered backwards, stunned momentarily, Kasumi, caught in the inferno grenade along with Tali and Mordin, vanished and hit Zaeed with her shadow strike. The two of them both fell, as the fire overwhelmed Kasumi’s shields.

            “Zaeed and Kasumi are down. Shepard seems to be the target of the other team’s focus!” Joker called.

            “Their only chance would be to focus their attacks on Shepard before she inevitably defeats them,” EDI commented.

            As Shepard recovered and Mordin prepared to attack her with an incendiary blast, Jacob leapt in front of her and pulled the salarian with his biotics, tossing him sideways into Garrus. “Nicely done, Jacob!” Shepard exclaimed.

            Jacob turned to thank her just as Tali’s combat drone snuck up behind him and blasted him with a rocket, sending him flying into some crates. Shepard warped the drone as Jack unleashed another shockwave, sending a crate flying into Tali and knocking her down.

            “Tali and Jacob are out,” Joker commentated, “But Garrus and Mordin aren’t done yet.”

            “Neither is Shepard,” EDI put in.

            As Garrus and Mordin got to their feet, Miranda approached their side. Jack moved to meet her, cracking her knuckles. “C’mon princess. Show me what you’ve got,” Jack snapped.

            Miranda unleashed a biotic blast even as Jack sent another shockwave tearing across the room. Miranda leapt out of the way, and then countered, hitting Jack with a warp which knocked the woman back a few paces. Jack, more pissed off now than anything, tossed Miranda into the air. She hit the ceiling, hard, but on her way down she caught herself with her biotics, and sent another warp at Jack. It was unexpected and sent Jack flying into one of the crates. Jack was furious now; she ran full-tilt towards Miranda and tackled her with biotic energy swirling around her. The two women struggled and it took a minute for Miranda to blast Jack off of her. Both women were panting, now. Jack unleashed another Shockwave towards Miranda, even as Miranda launched another Warp, but this time she didn’t aim at Jack, she aimed at one of the second story crates behind her. It fell and landed on top of Jack, taking her by surprize, even as Jack’s shockwave knocked Miranda back into a crate so hard she lost consciousness.

            “Well...Jack and Miranda are out…” Joker said. “And honestly I’m a little aroused.”

            “Shepard, Garrus, Thane and Mordin are all that remain,” EDI commented.

            They had all been momentarily distracted by the epic fight between Jack and Miranda, but now it was back to business. “Shepard,” Thane called to her, dodging behind a crate. “I will eliminate Mordin. Create a distraction.”

            Shepard grinned. “No problem.” She took cover and built up the energy required even as Thane disappeared and Mordin and Garrus’ tech abilities rebounded off the crates around her. It took a minute but then she unleashed the singularity and all of the crates in the area were pulled into its gravity, including the one she had been hiding behind.

            Mordin and Garrus tried to hit her with incinerate and overload but she surrounded herself with a biotic barrier and watched their abilities bounce off.

            “You’ll get tired, eventually, Shepard,” Garrus called.

            “Will I? These Cerberus biotic upgrades are pretty fantastic. You know I have an L5 biotic implant now?” Shepard replied.

            “Why use singularity?” Mordin asked, inhaling sharply. “Pointless. Ruined your cover. Waste of energy.” A beat passed and then he breathed, “Distraction.” Just as Thane dropped down from above and hit him with a biotic warp, tossing him into the wall, and then throwing him against it again for good measure. Garrus, who had been behind Thane, hit him with an overload, stunning him, and then shoved him into the path of Shepard’s singularity.

            “Crap!” she swore and closed the singularity, but it was too late and Thane was tossed to the ground, unconscious.

            “Thane and Mordin are out,” Joker called. “No real surprize there. I think we all knew this would come down to Shepard and Garrus.”

            “Officer Vakarian has an incredibly low chance of beating Shepard,” EDI added.

            Joker sighed. “Your variables can’t consider everything,” he said.

            “I was created with the ability to process over--” EDI began.

            Joker cut her off, “In this kind of situation, who wins isn’t about who is more skilled. It’ll be about how they treat each other.”

            With Shepard’s singularity gone, the crates had fallen back in a haphazard pattern. Shepard and Garrus could no longer see each other. Shepard was also beginning to tire from biotic use, not that she would ever admit it. She crept around the crates, watching carefully for Garrus.

            A flashbang grenade went off and Shepard threw up her barrier on instinct. “What the hell?” she yelled.

            She could not hear or see. She looked around wildly to no avail. Her barrier began to fade with fatigue and another grenade went off, followed by her getting hit with an overload. She was knocked back into a crate, but still had no idea where Garrus was. As she stumbled and fell, she got the idea.

            “Shepard is down?” Joker called, astonished.

            “Officer Vakarian stole those flashbang grenades from Kasumi,” EDI pointed out.

            “We never specified they had to use their _own_ abilities.”

            Garrus approached Shepard where she lay, unconscious, beside one of the crates. He could hardly believe it had worked. It just seemed so unlikely.

            That was when Shepard lashed out with a biotic pull, and left him dangling helpless in the air. She got up, and smirked at him. “Smart move taking those grenades off Kasumi,” she commented, standing beneath him.

            “I thought so,” he admitted.

            “Do you admit defeat or do I need to bang you against a wall?” Shepard asked teasingly.

            “Hmmm…” he replied. “Let me think….” A grenade dropped from him and Shepard blinked at it before it stunned her, and Garrus dropped from above, landing on top of her.

            “Oww…” Shepard complained. Garrus’ armour was heavy, and he was still on top of her.

            After the temporary blindness and deafness wore off, Garrus groaned, laughing. “I didn’t think about you dropping me from 10 feet up,” he admitted.

            Shepard laughed too. “I thought you were a tactician.”

            He rolled off of her, but neither of them made any move to get up. “I think I’m getting old, Shepard,” he said from beside her.

            “Until you die, don’t complain to me,” Shepard replied, but her tone was teasing.

            They continued to lay on the ground, side by side. Garrus moved and Shepard thought, _Crap, he has another grenade?_ But he only intertwined his fingers with hers. “Tie?” he suggested.

            Shepard looked at him. She smiled. “Tie.”

            “That was statistically unlikely,” EDI commented.

            “Shepard doesn’t really do statistics, EDI,” Joker replied.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on vacation so the next update won't be until September.  
> The next chapter will be after the Shadowbroker, so some Liara!  
> Getting close the suicide mission!  
> Thanks to everyone for the kudos, comments and bookmarks! :D


	5. Objective Sexual Attractiveness

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)

**On Omega: Samara’s Loyalty Mission**

“Wait,” Garrus said, stopping Shepard before she entered the VIP section of Afterlife. She was wearing the dress Kasumi gave her when they broke into Hock’s vault. She never wore the dress, and Shepard watched Garrus struggle to avoid staring at how revealing it was. How much of her dusky skin it showed.

            Garrus had been quietly uncomfortable ever since they got to Omega. She had assumed at first it was because of his past with the place, but the longer they looked for Samara’s daughter, the more clear it had become to her he was worried. Worried about her being the bait.

            “Let me do it,” he said. When Shepard opened her mouth to reply he cut her off in a low tone she did not recognize. “Please, Shepard, let me take the risk here.”

            _He is pleading with me,_ she thought. “I’ll be alright,” she said. “Samara is in there. She’ll protect me if anything goes wrong. If I can’t handle Morinth.”

            Garrus sighed. “I hate that you’re so attractive that we have to use you to lure out a serial-killing asari because _of course_ she’ll want you.”

            Shepard laughed, startled. “I thought you weren’t really into humans, Garrus,” she said.

            “Exactly. Yet I care for you,” he replied. “I’m not the only one.”

            Shepard put a hand to his scarred cheek. “I have to do this for Samara,” she said. “It’s possible Morinth won’t even fall for it.”

            Garrus shook his head. “Of course she will. Even Samara knew that.” He paused then added. “Let me come in and watch your back.”

            “Garrus, no offence, but I can’t walk in there with my turian…” she hesitated, unsure what exactly to call him.

            He caught on to her awkwardness and pressed his forehead to hers. “Fine. I’ll wait for you back on the Normandy. But if anything happens to you, ‘ _your turian_ ’ is going to have an ardat-yakshi to hunt down.”

 

**After Tuchanka**

          Garrus rarely bothered to ask before visiting her cabin these days. There was not much point in keeping the formality, since their relationship had become common knowledge to the point that even Mordin had teased her about it when they had returned from Grunt’s Rite of Passage. Whether or not he had actually forwarded pamphlets on turian-human sex positions to EDI, Shepard never intended to find out. She refused to discuss _that_ with the AI.

          “I wish we could have visited with Wrex longer,” Shepard said as they ate dinner.

            Garrus nodded. “It looks like he’s doing good work with the krogan clans, though.”

            “I can’t believe it,” Shepard agreed. “Two years ago he kept telling me the krogan could never be saved.”

            “Two years ago we all met someone who inspired us.”

            She smiled at him, moving closer to him on the couch until their legs were touching. “Do you know what Wrex asked me about when you and Grunt were out of earshot?” Shepard asked innocently.

            “With Wrex I’m sure it was something colourful.”

            “He asked how good the sex was,” Shepard continued. Garrus spat out his dinner.

            “He...what?” Garrus stammered.

            “Apparently he thinks we’re idiots for waiting so long,” Shepard laughed at Garrus’ shocked expression.

            “What did you.... I mean… how did you… What did you say?” he asked.

            “I told him you’ve ruined me for human men. He told me I should try a krogan.”

            “You don’t think he meant…” Garrus began.

            Shepard chuckled. “No, Garrus, I don’t think he meant himself.”

            “Ah...well...good.” Garrus seemed rather embarrassed and Shepard leaned against him.

            “When you told me I make you nervous,” Shepard said mischievously, “I never thought it could be so fun.”

 

            **After the Shadowbroker**

            “Isn’t it rude to kick Kasumi out of her own room?” Tali asked.

            “Hey, I wasn’t the one who put the bar in here,” Shepard replied, beginning to mix them drinks.

            Liara looked over from where she was studying Kasumi’s bookshelf. “We could simply bring the drinks up to your cabin, Shepard.”

            Garrus laughed and wrapped an arm around Shepard’s waist. “With the amount Shepard drinks? It’s best to stay near the bar.”

            Liara looked away from the display of affection, frowning slightly. Shepard sighed, handing Tali a bottle of the pre-filtered dextro alcohol they kept on hand for her, as well as a straw. “What are you drinking?” Shepard asked Liara.

            “I’ll have a Thessian Temple.”

            Garrus began to pour his own drink while Shepard made Liara’s. Garrus, finishing first, also poured Shepard a drink. She grinned at him. “Is that Ryncol?” Liara asked, astonished.

            “It’s Shepard’s favourite,” Garrus replied.

            Tali shook her head. “You two are adorable,” she complained.

            Liara crossed the room and accepted her drink. “Indeed,” she said. “Adorable.”

            “Don’t be jealous, Liara,” Tali chided. “Even before he was Archangel, the two of them were close. Now…”

            Garrus stared at Tali. “Are you trying to say Shepard only likes me because I’m Archangel?” he asked indignantly.

            “I’m the _Shadowbroker_ ,” Liara muttered, sipping her drink. They all ignored her.

            “A vigilante fighting for the helpless?” Tali replied, “It’s _sexy_.”

            “Tali,” Shepard said, amused. “How much have you had?”

            Tali set her bottle down, and swept an arm dramatically, “That is beside the point.”

            Shepard eyed the bottle, of which Tali had very quickly drank nearly a third. “Sure it is,” she laughed.

            Garrus was still focused on a moment earlier. “Do _you_ think it’s sexy?” he asked Shepard. Tali giggled and Liara sighed.

            Shepard blushed noticeably, even with her dark skin. “Well...yes, but--”

            Garrus considered this while Tali returned to her bottle and straw. “Oh, by the goddess,” Liara interrupted. “As if you don’t think her being _Commander Shepard_ the first human Spectre, saviour of the Citadel is sexy!” She glared at Tali, too. “You do, too, admit it.”

            Tali continued to drink, studiously avoiding looking at any of them.

            “I don’t know how I ended up in this conversation,” Shepard muttered, dazed, as she looked around at three of her best friends.

            “Is it better, or worse, than the last time we got drunk in here and ended up fighting in the cargo hold?” Garrus asked.

            EDI popped up in the corner. “It took the crew a week to return the cargo hold to its usual state following that instance,” she informed them. “As for Commander Shepard’s objective sexual attractiveness, my sensors lead me to believe that all organics are attracted to her in some capacity.”

            Tali spat out her straw. “What?” she exclaimed. “You have sensors for that?”

            “I can sense arousal in all species,” EDI replied. “It is an excellent potential weakness to consider when I one day conquer all organic life.” There was silence. “That was a joke,” EDI said.

            “Sometimes I wonder about your ‘jokes’,” Tali muttered.

            Shepard had hardly been listening. “ _All_ organics?” she echoed. “Wait, don’t tell--”

            It was too late. “Humans and asari are most affected. Officer Taylor, Mr. Massani, Yeoman Chambers, Justicar Samara and Dr. T’soni. Mr. Krios and Officer Vakarian as well. Officer Lawson, Jack, Ms. Goto, Mr. Moreau and Tali’Zorah are less interested, but by my readings still show minor physical reactions to your presence. Such as heightened pulse, increased body temperature and breathing rate.”

            Shepard was speechless. “You didn’t mention Mordin and Grunt,” Garrus pointed out.

            “Dr. Solus has a minor reaction, far less noticeable than any others on the ship. Grunt reacts physically to Shepard more as a child reacting to the sight of his mother.”

            “Aw,” Tali commented. “Shepard, that’s adorable.”

            Shepard personally resolved to spend more time with Grunt, if only because it was going to be incredibly uncomfortable to look any of her other crew in the eyes for a little while.

            Shepard took a long burning draught of her Ryncol, and Garrus chuckled. “Apparently you and I both bear the weight of being wanton sex objects,” he said solemnly. “Commander Shepard and Garrus Vakarian, saving the galaxy with the strength of our sex appeal.”

            Shepard snorted. “Somehow I doubt the Reapers will find me so attractive.”

            “We could ask EDI for an AI’s opinion,” Tali suggested tipsily.

            Shepard groaned as EDI said, “I do not possess sexual urges. However, I admit to being interested in Shepard in an intellectual capacity. The odds of her continued survival are always very low by normal standards.”

             “Honestly, I thought EDI was interested in Joker,” Garrus admitted.

             “Mr. Moreau is interesting for other reasons,” EDI replied.

             “Shepard,” Liara said, setting her empty cocktail glass down on the bar, “Did your AI just tell us that even it is interested in you?”

             Shepard shook her head. “I don’t know...but I guess the odds on that ‘defeating the Reapers with sex appeal’ plan just increased.”

 

           

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I make no apologies for EDI. Even if I feel like I should. This sort of awkward interaction is *designed* into her programming.
> 
> I can't be the only one who wanted your LI to have a problem with you being the ardat-yakshi bait, either, can I?
> 
> As for bitter/jealous Liara...that's just sort of fun.
> 
> Suicide mission next :)


	6. Do Not Ingest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter has smutty content! You've been warned! (Also this is my first time writing smutty fanfic, so let me know how I did? Please?)  
> Enjoy!

**After the Faulty IFF**

Shepard’s squad had never been together in a room and been so quiet. Perhaps it was because they were on the crew deck, and they were all painfully aware of the fact that Mess Sergeant Gardner and the other crew who usually inhabited this area were missing. If you looked through the med bay window, you would notice Dr. Chakwas’ empty desk.

            Garrus stood behind Shepard, with his arms wrapped around her waist. She leaned back into him. _At least Garrus is still with me,_ she thought. She was crushed with guilt for the thought immediately, but there it was.

            As she looked around at the downcast faces of her squad she felt what they felt; their grief, their anger, their restlessness, but more than that, their determination.

            “Shepard-Commander,” Legion said into the quiet of the room. The geth was standing slightly apart from the rest of her squad. They might have come to trust EDI, but Legion was another matter.

            “Yes?” she replied.

            “Why did you ask for us?” the geth asked.

            “After a crisis, it can be comforting to be with people you care about,” Shepard said. Garrus’ arms around her tightened. “I thought we could all use that.”

            The geth’s face plates twitched as it processed this information. “Geth are never alone,” Legion said.

            “Urgh,” Grunt grumbled, he was pacing near the kitchen. “Can’t you shut it up, Shepard?”

            “If the geth wants to go be not-alone somewhere else, no one’s stopping it,” Zaeed added.

            “I still say we should have shot that thing,” Jacob grumbled.

            “Or sold it to Cerberus,” Miranda added.

            Legion examined all of them. “Geth are never alone,” he repeated, “but when some are lost, all geth suffer.”

            The room was quiet. EDI popped up. “Organics create similar bonds,” she explained to Legion. “The loss of the crew is devastating.”

            Legion considered this. “We will rescue them, Shepard-Commander.”

            “Yes,” Shepard agreed. “We will.”

 

* * *

 

 

            After the crew had relaxed enough; helped along by some alcohol, Garrus tugged gently on Shepard’s hand. “Go up to your cabin. I’ll meet you there,” he whispered.

            Shepard grinned flirtatiously and muttered a lame excuse to her crew. Miranda rolled her eyes but no one bothered to try and keep her there.

            When Shepard got to her cabin she opted to have a quick shower. Mordin’s words echoed through her mind as the water cascaded down around her, _Warn of chafing. Human ingestion of tissue could provoke allergic reactions. Anaphylactic shock possible. So don’t, ah, ingest._

Mordin was _such_ an ass.

            She was just getting out of the shower when Garrus arrived. The sight of him made her calmer. He held a bottle of wine in one hand and seemed hesitant to move further into the cabin. “Hey. I brought wine. Best I could afford on a vigilante’s salary,” he said with a shrug.

            She grinned at him. He was nervous, she could tell. Before she could say anything, he darted towards her music player and turned on the club mix from Flux. Then he spread his arms out and strutted awkwardly in the direction of her fish tank. Shepard held in a laugh as she approached him.

            It seemed he was determined to continue this nervous rambling, and Shepard could only grin wider as he said, “If you were a turian, I’d be complimenting your waist or your fringe. So...your, uh, hair looks good. And your waist is...very supportive.” She did not reply and Garrus added worriedly, “Hopefully that’s not offensive in human culture. Crap. I knew I should have watched the vids--”

            Shepard lifted a hand to stop him. “Whoa! Consider me seduced, smooth talker. Now shut up and stop worrying.” She turned off the club music before returning to his side.

            “I just… I’ve seen so many things go wrong, Shepard. My work at C-Sec, what happened with Sidonis… I want something to go right. Just once. Just....” Shepard lifted her hand to gently brush his scarred cheek. Garrus leaned towards her and touched his forehead to hers.

            “I didn’t watch the vids, either,” she admitted, and Garrus laughed softly.

            “Well, I suppose this will be a learning experience then,” he said.

            Shepard took his hands in hers, and pulled him towards her bed. She eyed what he was wearing and said, “That looks easier to remove than your armour, but I still think you might want to do it. At least the first time.”

            Garrus nodded and pulled off the shirt, carefully maneuvering it around his fringe. Shepard found herself staring at him shirtless. Around his neck was a raised ridge, and beneath his ribs his waist was severely indented until his hips, more of an hourglass figure than any human woman could ever hope to achieve. He was beautiful. She touched his bare chest and repeated it aloud, “You’re beautiful.”

            Garrus made an awkward noise that was half laugh, half cough. She looked into his bright blue eyes and brushed her lips across his scarred cheek. “That…” Garrus said, surprized. “That felt nice.” His eyes were on her lips. “It was soft.”

            “I’ve wanted to do that for a long time,” Shepard admitted.

            She stepped back and removed her own shirt, and this time Garrus reached out to stroke her breast. He did it so gently it was like he was scared to hurt her. She shivered at the contact, biotic energy rippling across her skin, and he pulled away. “Did I do something wrong?” he exclaimed, worried.

            “No...that was good,” Shepard said.

            “Oh…” He returned his hand to her breast, his thumb on her nipple. “Hmm…” He gently brushed his thumb across it, watching as Shepard’s breathing hitched and the nipple stiffened, biotic energy shimmering. “You’re sensitive here,” he stated.

            Shepard nodded. Garrus noted her eyes drifting to his pants and chuckled, then removed them. When they were gone he stood in front of her and for a second Shepard was speechless. “Garrus…” she began hesitantly. “Where is your…?”

            Garrus was confused, and followed her gaze to the flat plates just beneath his hips. “They protect my genitals, and move out of the way when I’m aroused,” he explained. “It isn’t like that with humans?”

            “No,” Shepard answered, shaking her head.

           She began to pull her own pants down and Garrus stopped her. “I want to do it,” he said. He kneeled on the ground before her and slowly tugged the fabric down, past her hips, then her thighs. She sat down on the bed so he could pull the pants off her feet. He put a hand around one of her calves, running it along the smooth dark skin there. “Your skin is all so soft,” he commented. He spread her legs, gently, and with his eyes on hers asked, “May I?”

           She nodded and he slowly moved his hand between her legs. He ran a finger slowly across her and she exhaled a breath, spreading her legs to give him better access. He glanced up at her, to gauge her reaction and then plunged two of his fingers deep inside her. She gasped and her biotics crackled as he moved them, his long fingers exploring her in ways she had always found herself daydreaming of, fascinated by their dexterity. She brought a hand down to his and showed his thumb where her clit was, and showed him the proper motion. He nodded and went to work at the task with the same dedication he always showed to the Normandy’s weapons’ systems.

          It didn’t take long before his skilled fingers had her panting and sweating, waves of pleasure pulsing through her. She cried out his name as the biotic energy released when she climaxed. Their eyes locked as he removed his hand and slowly she brought her eyes down to his waist, where his plates had slid out of the way to reveal his erection. She moved back on the bed as he stood up and she watched him approach, captivated by the sight of him. His length shared the shape of a human’s, but possessed ridges she knew would only improve her experience. He rifled for something in the pockets of his abandoned clothes and came up with a condom. “Mordin mentioned something about...anaphylactic shock…” he mumbled, embarrassed, as he pulled it on.

          He then crawled across the bed towards her and she said, “Wait.” He stopped immediately, ever cautious of doing something she was uncomfortable with. She moved over and said, “Lay on your back.”

           He obeyed, and it was Shepard’s turn to crawl across the bed towards him. She tossed one leg over him and held herself just above his erection, holding eye contact with him. She did not keep him waiting long before she impaled herself on his length, and now it was his turn to gasp as she tightened around him. He brought his hand back to her sensitive clit and continued the motion she had taught him.

          He admired the sight of her moving on top of him for a while, glowing with a blue biotic shimmer, before he asked, “Do you trust me?”

          She nodded, panting. In one swift motion he gripped her thighs and stood from the bed, with him still inside her. He carried her over to the fish tank and placed her back against it. Then he adjusted his angle and proceeded to drive himself inside her, hard. His speed increased and each time he withdrew from her, he swiftly and almost painfully slammed back inside her.

          She was gasping and screaming his name when he finally came inside her, and she tightened impossibly around him as well, their pleasure reaching its height together, her biotics releasing strong enough to send waves through the fish tank. He relaxed his grip on her thighs, then, and looked deep into her eyes.

          She kissed him on the plate around his mouth and he gently nibbled her lip with his sharp teeth, laughing affectionately. He carried her back to the bed and they collapsed together, her rolling off of him even as he ran his fingers through her dark hair. She brought her fingers up to his fringe and he twitched and made a pleasured sound. “You’re sensitive there?” she asked. “I’ll be sure to remember that for next time.”

 

* * *

 

 

         Shepard, curled in her lover’s arms, should have found sleep easy. Garrus had relaxed muscles she had not realized had been tense. Sleep did not come, however. Not when she thought of where they were going.

         “EDI,” Shepard asked into the darkness of her cabin, the only light came from the fish tank, which she probably needed to wipe down. “What’s our ETA?”

          EDI’s soft blue light popped into existence across the room. “45 minutes, Shepard.”

          “Thanks, EDI,” she said, and the AI disappeared.

           Shepard sat up and beside her, Garrus stirred. “Shepard?” his groggy voice asked. “What’s wrong?”

           “I don’t want to lose anyone,” Shepard whispered. She turned and reached out to stroke Garrus’ cheek. “I can’t even think about losing you.”

            Garrus sat up, the blankets falling off his naked chest. He took her hand in his. “Everyone signed up for the danger here. We’ll get this done.”

            Shepard stood up and began to get dressed. She felt Garrus’ eyes on her. “When we lost Kaidan, I swore I wouldn’t lose anyone else. I’m not ready to be wrong.”

 

           

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can we just talk about Legion? That robot is darling. If you let the geth die in ME3, I don't think we can be friends.
> 
> More will come, Arrival DLC, then ME3! Yaaay...
> 
> Also I'm working on a dragon age fic as well at the moment because of Trespasser so it might be a few weeks for an update.


	7. Suicide Missions

**COLLECTOR BASE**

Shepard had been more than willing to upgrade the Normandy with any and every suggestion her companions offered, but in particular she knew they needed the upgraded shields, armour and weapons. She vividly remembered the last time she had been on a ship that had been in combat with a Collector vessel, and was in no hurry to repeat the experience. Possibly because of those upgrades, she and all of her friends survived to a crash landing on the Collector homeworld.

She sent Legion crawling through the ducts, hoping as a synthetic he would be able to tolerate the extreme temperatures better than any of the others could. It had been tempting to allow Jacob to take the risk when he volunteered, but he simply was not skilled enough for the job.

Her heart tore in half when she assigned Garrus to lead the other team, but she knew her squad remembered that he and Shepard had tied in their drunken competition and that had earned him a healthy level of respect. Shepard also remembered Miranda had struggled the most to follow his lead, so she took her and Grunt as her companions.

She and Garrus took a single, selfish moment to hold each other before they were forced to separate for the mission.

When they got their crew out of the pods, Shepard assigned Kasumi to escort them back to the ship. She knew the thief had the best chance of keeping the group undetected as they moved through the base.

Shepard asked Samara to hold the biotic barrier against the Seeker swarms. The Justicar had unparalleled concentration. She brought Miranda and Jack as her companions, so the three biotics could always fill in if Samara faltered. Once again, Garrus led the other team, but this time he was the one who seemed more worried. Shepard's team had the more dangerous job.

She kissed his scarred cheek before they separated.

When the two teams reunited on the other side of the swarms, Garrus stumbled as he took a bullet to the gut and Shepard went numb. He stood up straight and met her gaze, squeezing her hand and communicating that he was unharmed. Shepard resumed breathing.

After discovering the crew and Kasumi had reached the Normandy safely, they found they needed to split up once again. She looked around at her team and as her eyes met Garrus' she knew he needed to stay behind to lead them. She saw the understanding in his bright blue eyes, as she called for Miranda and Tali to come with her.

After her speech to her companions, as they rode the spinning platform through the base, Tali said, "He'll be fine, Shepard."

Shepard did not reply.

Shepard destroyed the proto-human Reaper, and the base. She did not trust the Illusive Man, never had. Joker’s voice telling her that the rest of her team had survived spurred her to action. She needed Tali and Miranda to survive too.

They reached the Normandy and Joker got them all the hell out of there.

It was after Shepard told off the Illusive Man, and officially quit Cerberus that she found Garrus waiting for her just outside the comm room. She walked into his embrace without hesitation, and as his arms wrapped around her she sighed.

“We did it,” she whispered. “No casualties.”

“I wasn’t worried,” Garrus replied.

She laughed softly. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”

“Of course you could have…less stylishly. But if I have my way, you’ll never have to.”

 

* * *

 

**BEFORE ARATOHT**

The cargo bay was nearly silent as Shepard prepared to leave. The shuttle was ready and waiting. Shepard did one last check of her weapons and armour, ensuring they were in perfect condition. She rechecked her supplies of grenades and medi-gel.

She had taken a single step towards the shuttle when she heard the elevator hum to life and stopped with a sigh.

Garrus stepped off the elevator into the cargo bay, in full armour. His weapons were on his back. He said not a word as he walked past Shepard and onto the waiting shuttle, taking a seat and watching her expectantly.

“Garrus,” she said gently. “I told you I’m going alone.”

“Actually,” Garrus replied. “I remember you telling me Hackett said you couldn’t bring a squad of armed soldiers.” He looked around the empty cargo bay. “The two of us are not a squad.”

Shepard laughed. “Don’t you think I _want_ you to come with me?” she asked.

“I don’t see the problem.”

Shepard raised an eyebrow and Garrus sighed. “Hackett asked me to go alone, so I’m going alone,” she said.

Garrus stood up and stepped off the shuttle. He approached Shepard, pressing his forehead to hers and closing his eyes. “Come back safe,” he whispered.

She brushed her lips across his cheek. “As fast as I can, I promise.”

* * *

 

**THE NORMANDY**

_(After the destruction of the Bahak System)_

The med bay door closed behind Hackett and barely a minute later Garrus entered. He wrapped Shepard in his arms and she relaxed into the embrace. “You were gone for days,” Garrus muttered. “That’s what you call ‘as fast as you can’? You have no idea how many times Joker had to talk me out of going after you.”

“I’m glad you weren’t there,” Shepard told him. “They had me sedated, but they might have killed you.”

Garrus held onto her for a minute longer. He brushed the hair back from her face as he released her. “I read your report,” he said. “What did Admiral Hackett have to say?”

“I’ll have to turn myself in.”

Garrus’ mandibles twitched in agitation. “Turn yourself in?” he repeated incredulously. “For stopping a Reaper invasion?”

“If I don’t,” Shepard explained, “the Alliance and the batarians will go to war.”

“If you _do_ , the Alliance will have locked up the only person who can stop the Reapers when they get here next time,” Garrus argued.

“I have to do this,” Shepard said.

“I know you do,” Garrus sighed.

* * *

 

 

**SHADOWBROKER SHIP – HAGALAZ**

_(Two Weeks after the Destruction of the Bahak System_ **)**

 

Liara had been tracking the news related to the destruction of the Bahak system, and swore she would update Shepard as soon as anything changed. Shepard still couldn’t bring herself to leave Hagalaz. She had been almost as obsessive over Liara’s terminals as The Shadowbroker herself since her arrival the day before.

“Shepard,” Liara’s soft voice called her from across the room. “You should take a look at this.”

Shepard approached Liara’s main terminal as Liara brought one video up across all the screens. The reporter, Emily Wong, spoke somberly into the camera as the bulletin across the bottom of the screens read: **Commander Shepard and Cerberus involved in destruction of Bahak System? Admiral Hackett working with Cerberus?**

_“Alliance Command was blindsided today when a source close to the Batarian Hegemony revealed an internal report leaked from inside the Alliance concerning the destruction of the Bahak System, a system that was home to over 300,000 batarians. The first human Spectre, Commander Shepard--previously thought deceased, now rumoured to be working for the pro-human terrorist organization, Cerberus--features prominently in the classified document. So far Alliance Admiral Steven Hackett is taking responsibility.”_

“Shepard, this doesn’t mean--” Liara began to say.

Shepard cut her off, “Yes it does. It’s time to turn myself in.”

* * *

 

 

**THE NORMANDY**

 

Shepard faced her gathered squad calmly. They were spread throughout the dining and kitchen area of the crew deck, Shepard stood in the middle of them all. Though they all watched her, she felt Garrus’ eyes most of all.

“I’m turning myself into the Alliance,” Shepard informed them.

Immediately there was an outburst of noise. Grunt smashed his fist into the med bay window, and the glass splintered.

Jack leaped from her seat. “That’s crap, Shepard!”

“Shepard-Commander,” Legion asked, “Was your sacrifice not in pursuit of stopping the Reapers? Of saving organic life?”

“It was,” Shepard agreed.

“Does your Alliance share this goal?"

"I..."

Mordin inhaled sharply and declared, “Idiotic. Should prepare for Reapers. Not waste time on politics.”

“They can’t force you to do anything, Shepard,” Jacob said.

Miranda nodded. “You’re a Spectre. The Alliance has no real authority over you.”

“They won’t find us if we don’t want to be found,” Kasumi said.

Samara looked up from where her hands were folded on the table before her. “Though your intentions were altruistic, the 300,000 batarians of the Bahak system deserve justice.”

“Would they have gotten justice from the goddamn Reapers?” Zaeed demanded.

“The Code does not make considerations for the Reapers,” Samara replied bluntly.

“It is up to you, Shepard,” Thane said, “I trust you know what is best.”

“What if the Reapers invade while you’re in Alliance custody?” Tali asked.

Shepard shrugged. “I’d break out,” she said. Samara smiled faintly.

Joker had been quiet until now. “Isn’t this the same as joining Cerberus to stop the Collectors? The Alliance wants to _lock you up!_ Shouldn’t we be focusing on the real problems while they’re wasting time? Instead you want to let them? What happens to _us_ while you’re locked up? What happens to the Normandy? To EDI?”

“If the Alliance goes to war with the batarians over this, they’ll be completely blindsided when the Reapers come. I can’t let that happen. I don’t know what will happen, but I have to do anything I can to appease the batarians,” Shepard said. “In the meantime, I don’t expect you all to get locked up with me. I’m taking responsibility for this alone. You can all choose anywhere you want to go and I’ll drop you off before I turn myself in.”

As her crew began to discuss the various possibilities, Shepard watched Garrus slip away to the main battery, never having said a word.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a difficult chapter because I sort of wanted Shepard to lose a crew member on the suicide mission, but she would have none of that. She's just an excellent leader. She did way better at the suicide mission than I did, the first time I played it.  
> Otherwise, I'm sorry if this chapter ended up sort of feeling like filler? I could be paranoid because I am not the biggest fan of the Arrival dlc. There will be some more goodbyes in the chapter after this that will be much more satisfying I promise.  
> Also more smut?? No one commented on the last chapter's smut which made me a little paranoid but, you know, no one said it was awful so you people will get more until you beg me (or ask politely) to stop.


	8. Afterlife

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy N7 Day!

**OMEGA – AFTERLIFE**

Aria really did have a ridiculously comfortable couch. Shepard had always been rather fond of Afterlife, if she ignored the one visit when she had been poisoned by a racist bartender she could even say it was one of the few places in the galaxy that she regularly enjoyed visiting. That bartender had not been trying to kill her, personally, after all. That in itself was a rarity. Something Shepard found endearing about Omega was that here when people tried to kill her it was very rarely personal, whereas everywhere else it almost always was.

Shepard found herself absently nodding her head with the beat of the music, and Aria shot her an amused look from her seat on the couch across from Shepard in her personal booth. The asari folded one leg over the other and leaned back, somehow managing to look relaxed and yet a second away from dangerous at the same time.

“The music is designed to be infectious,” Aria commented. “You really should experience the lowest levels of the club; I can recommend several red sand dealers to enhance the experience.”

“Better than the VIP section?” Shepard asked, curious.

A smirk slowly spread across Aria’s face. “Each level has something… different to offer.”

“I’d take you up on your offer of meeting those red sand dealers, but I’m afraid I would enjoy the experience a lot more than they would.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “You’re painfully noble sometimes, Shepard,” the pirate queen informed her. The asari met her eyes. “Take this mess the Alliance is in with the batarians right now, for instance. It doesn’t take a salarian to figure out why your crew is drinking themselves stupid in my club right now.”

Shepard leaned forward, her elbows on her knees. She had worn her only dress to the club and the material made a god-awful squeak as she shifted position on Aria’s leather couch. Shepard shot a meaningful look at Aria’s bouncers Anto and Grizz, standing guard down the stairs from them but well within earshot.

Aria sighed and dismissed the two with an wave of her hand. “I can never decide if you’re a pain in my ass or a welcome amusement, Shepard,” Aria said.

“Some of my crew will be staying here on Omega,” Shepard replied. “I would appreciate if you would provide transport for those who want it, and look out for those who don’t.”

Aria considered this. She got to her feet and looked out the large window of her private booth, down at the dancers below and possibly at where some of Shepard’s crew were currently drinking and partying. She spoke, still looking out at her club. “If you turn yourself in to the Alliance, you will be locked away by your politicians because you are inconvenient,” she said.

“I know,” Shepard’s voice was hard.

Aria turned her head to look at the human soldier. “I’ve never known anyone noble to live a long life.”

Shepard grinned. “Good thing dying is already checked off of my to-do list.”

Aria looked back out the window. “Which of your people?” she asked, her tone becoming business-like.

“The Justicar Samara, Mordin, the geth Legion, the biotic Jack, and Zaeed Massani. As for their plans, I expect they will tell you the specifics of where they want to go,” Shepard explained.

“You’ve helped me in the past, and I don’t want to rule out the possibility of your help in the future…assuming you don’t die a noble death in an Alliance prison. I’ll take care of this.” Aria seemed to catch sight of something interesting below them in the club, because she hesitated before continuing in a more insinuating tone, “What about Archangel? He’s not returning to Omega?”

Shepard’s throat tightened and she stood up from the couch. “No,” she choked. “He’s not.”

As Shepard made her way down the stairs to leave, Aria called after her, “Shepard, your excruciating sense of nobility might make you a pain in the ass but I’m…fond of you, for also being a source of amusement. You should really unwind before you throw yourself on your sword. Archangel always seemed incredibly skilled at keeping you relaxed.” Aria’s teasing laughter followed Shepard until she exited the booth and Shepard was grateful for the music drowning it out.

* * *

 

“What did the pirate queen say?” Samara asked. It was only a moment after Shepard had left Aria that Samara had found her. The Justicar had clearly not been drinking with the rest of the crew. She appeared to be on edge in the club, her eyes darted from shadowy booth to dark corner, hunting for injustice.

“She agreed,” Shepard told her. “You’re free to stay, or to ask her for transport to anywhere you’d like to go.”

Samara tore her eyes away from a particularly dangerous looking individual to meet Shepard’s. The asari took one of Shepard’s brown hands in her two blue ones. “I would prefer to say goodbye elsewhere, if you do not object,” she suggested.

Shepard glanced around but did not catch sight of any of her crew in the immediate area. “Of course, Samara,” she agreed.

The asari smiled one of her sad smiles, Shepard always thought it was easiest to realize how old Samara was when she smiled. You could see the years weighing on every happy moment behind her eyes. Samara led Shepard out of the club, past the line of people waiting to get in. The Justicar considered their surroundings and seemed to reject them, opting to lead Shepard through Omega’s dirty and crowded docks until they reached the secluded area where they had docked the Normandy.

“We boarding?” Shepard asked.

Samara spared a glance for the Normandy’s bay door. “No,” she said eventually. “I think perhaps it is best if I do not get back on. It would make leaving all the harder.”

Shepard was touched by the depth of emotion in the asari’s voice. Samara spent a long moment examining the Normandy before she returned her gaze to Shepard. “It has been so long since I have had a friend, I’m afraid I’ve forgotten how to say goodbye.”

“You said your goodbyes once,” Shepard reminded her. “Before the Collector Base.”

Samara nodded slightly. “I did not truly expect us to survive,” she said. “I should have known you would succeed.” Once again the asari gripped Shepard’s hand. “You are a rare soul, Shepard. When the Reapers come for us, you need only call for me and I will aid you.”

Shepard exhaled. “I’m scared,” she admitted in small voice, her eyes on their entwined hands. “I’m scared to turn myself in.”

Samara squeezed her hand. “It is a frightening thing, to do what is right and just when others do not,” she said. “But you are a warrior, Shepard. No cage can hold you. Only your fear will ever hold you back.” Samara surprized Shepard then, by pressing her lips to the human woman’s forehead in a motherly gesture.

“Thank you for everything,” Shepard whispered.

“I have faith in you, Shepard,” Samara replied.

* * *

 

Shepard found Zaeed on her way back to Afterlife. He was taking a piss outside the club, to the disdain of the people waiting in line to get in. “Oh, fuck off!” he shouted, aiming a wildly inappropriate gesture in the vague direction of the complaints. He stumbled in Shepard’s direction and grinned at the sight of her. “Shepard!” he enthused.

“Having fun, Zaeed?” she asked.

He reached her side and wrapped an arm around her bare shoulders, draping a fair amount of his weight onto her with the motion. “Some pisshead eclipse merc challenged me to a drinking contest. Twerp was still wet behind the ears. I told him I’d been drinking with Commander _Fucking_ Shepard and to come back when he’d had Ryncol burn through his liver.”

“I see,” Shepard said.

Zaeed’s head slumped to rest on her shoulder, affording him a view of the cleavage on display from her dress. “Have I ever told you I like this dress?” Zaeed mumbled.

“My dress?” Shepard repeated, searching about for somewhere to set him down. She remembered the benches in the hallway just inside the club and nodded at the bouncer who allowed her past, dragging the half-conscious Zaeed with her.

“I think you’re beautiful, Shhhepard…” She really couldn’t hear him at this point, it was just incoherent whispers that became snores.

She led him to an empty bench and gently sat down with him. The mercenary snored on her shoulder, muttering in his sleep about goddamn sons of bitches. Shepard could not help but smile.

Her stomach flipped over when Garrus entered the hallway on his way out of the club. He stopped in his tracks at the sight of her and Zaeed on the bench. He approached them slowly, and she recognized the spark of curiosity in his eyes.

“What happened?” he asked her.

“If I understood correctly, he put a young eclipse merc in his place with a drinking contest,” Shepard explained. “Where were you going?”

“Oh,” Garrus glanced away. “I was going back to the ship,” he admitted uncomfortably.

“Oh,” Shepard echoed, her chest tight.

Garrus met her eyes, the blue was unusually sad. “I could take him back with me,” he offered. “He can sleep it off before we leave.”

“Sure,” Shepard agreed in a hollow voice.

Garrus extricated Zaeed from Shepard, causing an increase in the mercenary’s mumbled cursing. Shepard noticed Garrus avoided touching her, or even looking too closely at her bare skin.

“Be careful,” Shepard whispered as Garrus hefted Zaeed over his own shoulder. “ _Archangel_ ,” she added.

Garrus spared her a glance before he began to leave. “Of course, Shepard,” he said.

 

* * *

 

Mordin accosted her when she stepped foot back inside Afterlife. “Shepard,” he declared, “assume everything went well with Aria?”

She nodded, making her way towards the nearest bar with Mordin trailing after her. “You’re clear to stay here or leave whenever you want to,” she told him.

“Excellent. Can check on clinic. Possibly contact STG. Reaper threat imminent,” he explained rapidly.

Shepard ordered a drink with a wave of her hand and said to Mordin, “Hopefully _somebody_ does _something_ about the imminent Reapers.”

Her Ryncol arrived and she downed it. Mordin considered her. “Best candidate will be in prison,” he pointed out.

“You already gave me your opinion on this, Mordin,” she said.

“Always a chance someone might listen to reason if repeated enough,” the salarian informed her. He inhaled sharply. “Sadly, most people too stubborn.” A second later he added a soft addendum, “Particularly humans.”

Shepard chucked as she ordered another drink. “Mordin, did you just call me stubborn _and_ stupid?”

He grinned conspiratorially. “Always a chance you might listen.”

She laughed.

* * *

 

When Mordin left, Shepard wandered down to the lower level looking for her friends. She found Jack dancing on a table. “SHEPARD!” the tattooed woman yelled, grabbing Shepard’s hand and pulling her up onto the table with her.

The table was definitely too small for the both of them, especially with the enthusiastic dancing Jack was doing to the faster-paced lower level music. “Well, come on!” Jack encouraged. “Fucking dance!”

Shepard tried her best in the limited space and quickly managed to hit Jack in the face with her elbow. Jack shoved Shepard off of the table with a laugh.

“Cat fight!” someone in the crowd yelled.

“FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!” became the chant picked up by the rest.

Jack leapt off the table and offered Shepard a hand, pulling her up. “What do you think?” she asked, brown eyes sparkling. “Want to have some fun?” She allowed a slight glow of her biotics to crackle blue across her arms and chest.

Shepard looked around at Aria’s bar and the shouting crowd. “I really don’t think we should destroy the bar of the woman who just agreed to shelter you, or transport you wherever you want to go,” she said.

Jack sighed. “You’re no fun, Shepard.” She made her way towards the bar and one of the crowd, a drunk turian with brown plates and white tattoos, got in Jack’s way.

“We told you to fight!” he snapped.

Jack rolled her eyes at Shepard and shoved the guy out of her way. He raised his hand to try and hit her and before he knew what was happening Jack had hit him and several others with a shockwave, sending them flying into the booths. Jack cracked her knuckles and smiled at Shepard. “Looks like we’re wrecking the bar, after all.”

“It’s not wrecked yet,” Shepard said reasonably just as someone jumped her from behind and entire lower bar erupted into a brawl.

“I WILL DESTROY YOU!” Jack shouted, launching biotic attacks at anyone who even looked at her until half of the occupants of the bar were soaring through the air.

“YOU CAN STILL STOP!” Shepard yelled, refraining from biotic use and only punching anyone who touched her, which generally knocked them out cold.

What could only have been five minutes later, everyone other than Jack and Shepard was out cold, either punched out by Shepard, or knocked out from the impact of being thrown into the walls or furniture repeatedly by Jack.

“I’ll miss this when you’re in prison,” Jack commented, stepping over several unconscious krogan to grab a bottle of alcohol off the bar. The bartender, who had hidden when the brawl started, did not try and stop her.

“Somehow I expect you’ll keep doing this while I’m in prison,” Shepard replied.

Jack took a swig of the bottle and passed it to Shepard. “I mean…probably, but it won’t be as fun without you trying to talk everyone out of it.”

Shepard sighed.

* * *

 

After the fight, and after apologizing profusely to Aria for the property damage which apparently happened all the time in the lower levels anyway, Shepard gave up on trying to find the rest of her friends in the other levels of the club. She was tired, sore and a little drunk, though with her constitution the buzz would likely wear off by the time she made it back to the Normandy. Shepard walked alone through the gritty space station, eyes catching on blood stains of various colours and…other bodily fluids. More than anywhere else she had been, Omega reminded her of the over-crowded and crime filled city she had grown up in on earth. The only real difference was Aria, back home you never knew which gang leader had managed to claim control that week.

The light cycle of Omega was always set to simulate evening, never day, so Shepard had absolutely no concept of what time it was or how many hours she had spent in Afterlife. She could check her omni-tool, but there was something freeing in not knowing how much time she had left. Not knowing how many hours before she would leave the space station behind, and several of her close friends behind with it.

“ _Arrgh_! _Kiiill_ it! Set it on fiiire! Watch it burn!”  a vorcha hissed from a nearby alley. With a sigh, Shepard turned in the direction of the voice. Whatever the vorcha intended to set on fire, it was a safe bet that it did not deserve it. She could have sworn dealing with vorcha on Omega was Captain Gavorn’s job, not hers. But she had never been able to walk past someone being attacked.

Five vorcha were together down the ally, surrounding someone or something she could not see. A bright light turned in her direction and the vorcha looked at her in unison. “Human! Leave!” the vorcha with the flame-thrower, the one in danger of setting the fire, screeched at her.

“This none of your concern!” one added. “Our toy! We found!”

“Shepard-Commander,” Legion spoke her name and she realized the source of the light. “Help us.”

“Legion’s not a toy,” she told the vorcha. “Leave or I’ll tell Captain Gavorn about your flame-thrower.”

The vorcha hissed at her in unison, though they backed away from Legion. “ _We_ found!” one of them insisted again. “ _Ours_!”

Shepard allowed her biotics to crackle across her skin. “You should really run while you can,” she threatened them softly.

The leader made several angry noises at her and muttered something to the others that her translator could not follow before barking at her, “We leave! Tell Captain Gavorn we listen! No fiiiires!”

“Sure, of course. No fires,” Shepard agreed. She had no intention of actually speaking to Captain Gavorn, so he would be in no danger of hearing about the vorcha or their flame-thrower.

The vorcha melted away into the shadows of the alleys and Shepard approached Legion. “What happened to you?” she asked. “Aren’t you an infiltration unit?”

Legion’s flashlight shutter fluttered as it did sometimes when it had to process for more than a second before replying to what she asked it. “EDI explained the purpose of this visit was socialization. The vorcha responded with aggression when approached.”

It took Shepard several seconds to understand this. “You wanted to _socialize_ with the vorcha? How did you get that idea?”

Legion's light flickered and then a recording began to play of a conversation from what seemed to be earlier in the evening:

_“Geth communicate through consensus. Socialization is an organic construct we are unfamiliar with.”_

_“Why don’t you go chat up a fucking vorcha, eh? They’ll chat your bloody flashlight off.” Zaeed added into his drink something Legion had clearly not heard, “Or shoot it.”_

Shepard sighed. “Zaeed was being sarcastic,” she told Legion.

The geth tilted its head. “Sarcasm is another organic construct.”

“In the future, you probably shouldn’t go to Zaeed for advice,” Shepard suggested.

“We could not find you to ask, Shepard-Commander,” Legion said.

Shepard swallowed. “Right. Well, let’s go back to the Normandy, alright?”

Legion followed Shepard out of the alley and through the streets of Omega. “I got permission for you to stay here, or to go wherever you need to,” Shepard explained.

“To geth space,” Legion stated.

Shepard looked at it. “If that is what you want.”

“We must help other geth,” Legion said. “As Shepard-Commander must help other organics.”

“I want to help everyone,” Shepard said firmly. “Geth too.”

“We know. That is why the old machines fear you.”

* * *

 

The Normandy was eerily quiet. Shepard had never known it to be so empty, not even when the crew had been kidnapped. She supposed it was expected when you gave the entire crew permission for shore leave for the evening to go to a club, that most of them would take advantage.

Shepard nodded at the few remaining crew as she passed their stations. They saluted with more fervor than she had ever experienced. The survivors of the Collector Base had come to view her with a near frightening amount of respect and loyalty. She suspected the few who had not taken the night off had simply wanted to prove to her they were worth it. To be honest, with EDI unshackled most of their jobs were no longer necessary but she didn’t have the heart to tell them.

“Don’t work too hard,” she told Hadley.

He spared a tired smile for her before continuing to pore over his console. “The organic crew is less efficient at tasks than EDI,” Legion commented as they neared the elevator.

EDI popped up into existence as Shepard called the elevator. “I enjoy sharing my work,” she said. “It makes the crew happy.”

“It is inefficient,” Legion insisted.

Shepard interrupted the argument which would never have gone anywhere, saying to EDI, “Would you mind subtly helping Hadley with whatever he’s working on?”

“Of course, Shepard,” she agreed, disappearing.

“Shepard-Commander…” Legion began.

“Legion, if you’re going to say something about how I should just get rid of my organic crew and let EDI do everything, how about you don’t say it and pretend you did?”

The elevator arrived and they stepped on in silence. As they descended to the crew deck Legion finally said, “Hadley-Crewman was overwhelmed by his task. Shepard-Commander assigned EDI to lighten his burden and increase efficiency.”

“Yes,” Shepard agreed.

“Geth share burdens too,” Legion commented as the elevator doors opened and they stepped off.

Shepard escorted Legion towards the med bay and stopped in her tracks when she spotted Zaeed, passed out face-down on top of the dining area table. Garrus exited the medbay, medi-gel in hand. He too stopped at the sight of them.

“He, uh, didn’t make it all the way back,” Garrus explained. He noticed her eyes on the medi-gel. “Oh, he fell and hit his head. It’s bleeding.”

He crossed over to the table and rolled Zaeed onto his back, then applied the medi-gel to the man’s blood-soaked forehead. “I didn’t expect you back so soon,” Garrus said as he worked.

“Jack and I destroyed a section of the bar and I felt it was time to leave,” Shepard replied.

Garrus nodded, unsurprised at the news of Jack destroying anything. He glanced up at Legion, then quickly away again. “I have some things I need to get done,” he said. He stood up and began to make his way towards the main battery.

Shepard had not followed him the last time he had run away like this. She had been giving him his space, giving him time to process this. Being patient. Mature. Noble, even.

Well, screw that.

“I need to talk to Garrus, Legion,” she told the geth. She did not wait for a reply before chasing her lover into his hide-out.

Garrus spun around when she opened the door. His eyes were wary when he caught sight of her. “Can it wait for a bit?” he began. “I’m—”

“No,” she cut him off, shoving him back against his terminal, her body pressed against his.

She was happily surprized when he responded by tearing off her dress.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter went much longer than I expected. It's interesting that the entire nature of Garrus' character makes it really difficult to write any sort of conflict in his relationship with Shepard, but this one feels natural to me. His fear of losing her is possibly the only thing that would cause conflict, but I didn't want to approach the fight wrong... I had to put a lot of thought into it. As well as how Shepard would say goodbye to her companions and where they would each go. You can expect each companion to have something special. And honestly I will probably end up writing more with Aria in the future because she is just way too fun.  
> Hope you enjoyed the smutty cliffhanger :)


	9. Fun and Reunions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Garrus and Shepard make up, and Shepard spends time with her remaining crew.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, you can blame my chronic migraines. I certainly do. A recent replay of Mass Effect brought me back to this fic, and I'm hoping to power through to the end eventually. One chapter at a time. Your kudos and comments give me the inspiration to keep going, so thank you to everyone who is reading this fic.

**NORMANDY – MAIN BATTERY**

 

Garrus spun her around, pinning Shepard against his console as he ripped her dress to tatters. Pinned between him and the console, Shepard hopped to rest lightly on top of it, wrapping her legs around her lover and dragging him closer, ever closer.

Shepard felt Garrus’ plate slide back against her thigh, felt his erection graze her through the material of his clothes. In her frustration she lashed out with her biotics, tearing his pants to shreds as he had done to her dress. Garrus’ laugh was a low growl of approval in her ear as he slid two fingers inside her thin black panties, running them along her wet opening and nearly humming with approval.

Shepard nearly spat with impatience when Garrus withdrew his fingers, fumbling beneath her in a hollow of his console and retrieving a condom. As he did this and began to put it on, Shepard began teasing Garrus by stroking the tips of his fringe with her fingers. His eyes drifted closed. A moment later they opened, burning with lust. Condom on, he was just as impatient as she was. Garrus locked eyes with Shepard for a brief second, and then he was inside her. He took her roughly, passionately. Her legs around him urged him to give her _more, harder, faster._ His mouth lowered to her shoulder and he traced the soft brown skin with his sharp teeth. He punctured her skin as he came inside her, the bite sending her over her edge as well. Her biotics released hard enough to shove Garrus from her, her legs no longer wrapped tightly around him as she came with a scream of triumph.

Both panting, Garrus and Shepard locked eyes in the seconds after their sparring match. Garrus opened his mouth. EDI popped up in the corner, “Commander Shepard, the crew are returning from Afterlife. Dr. Chakwas requests your presence in the med bay.” There was a brief pause before EDI added, “I’ll have Operative Lawson send you and Officer Vakarian down an extra set of clothes.” She vanished with a soft beep.

Garrus chuckled at the look of rage on Shepard’s face. “You do need the clothes,” he pointed out. “Or were you planning on walking back to your cabin looking like that?”

Shepard glanced down at herself, soiled underwear and sweaty bra. Her dress ruined on the floor. A bloody bite mark on her right shoulder. She smirked at Garrus and his lack of pants, her biotics having demolished them. “Only with you on my arm.”

 

 

Miranda delivered their fresh clothes, sparing only a raised eyebrow for the tatters of Shepard’s dress and averting her eyes from Garrus’ lack of pants. “You didn’t have to do this, Miranda,” Shepard pointed out as she pulled on her shirt. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth as she noticed Miranda had brought her one of the few outfits without the Cerberus logo.

Miranda continued to pointedly avoid looking at Garrus as he pulled on the pants she had thrown in his direction. “Joker volunteered when he heard EDI ask me to do it,” Miranda replied. She smirked at the dawning look of horror on Shepard’s face. “Exactly. I brought you clothes. Who knows what Joker would have come up with.”

“Thanks, Miranda,” Shepard laughed.

Miranda nodded and turned to leave. “Oh, by the way, Shepard,” she called over her shoulder. “I got a look at your closet… something has to be done about that.”

Shepard glanced at Garrus uncertainly. “About…?”

“ _Commander Shepard_ can hardly go in front of the Alliance Brass when all she has to wear is a closet full of Cerberus outfits or the same clothes a typical colonist would wear. I’ll be taking you shopping when we reach the Citadel,” she declared, strutting away without waiting for Shepard’s response.

“…shopping?” Shepard echoed.

EDI popped up in the corner. “Shepard the situation in the med bay is escalating,” she informed them, as muffled shouting began to echo through the ship.

Shepard took off down the hallway and spotted Dr. Chakwas, Jack, Tali, and Jacob through the med bay window. Zaeed lay unconscious on one of the beds. Jack and Jacob seemed to be the ones yelling, Tali was getting checked by Dr. Chakwas.

When Shepard entered the med bay, Jacob stopped yelling and nodded at her. Jack rolled her eyes. “Mommy’s home now so you’re letting her do the fighting?”

“Situation report,” Shepard said.

Chakwas lifted her eyes from Tali to acknowledge Shepard’s presence, then continued her treatment of the quarian. “Tali has alcohol poisoning,” Chakwas explained quickly. “If the Normandy weren’t equipped to treat quarians, she could have died.”

Garrus had arrived seconds after Shepard. “On Omega?” he supplied. “Their hospitals can barely treat the council races, let alone a quarian.”

“How did this happen?” Shepard demanded, working to keep her tone even despite her increasing anger and worry for her friend.

Jacob and Jack both started talking at the same time. EDI popped up in the corner to offer her version of events. All of it was enough to nearly give Shepard a raging headache.

“Enough!” she snapped. They all fell silent. Shepard’s eyes fell on Jacob first.

“I found Tali with Jack, barely making sense. They were talking about getting Tali some tattoo in Omega’s lower levels and I—”

Jack interrupted again, “Who cares about a tattoo?” she snapped. “I don’t know shit about quarian’s or what they can and can’t drink, but she _told_ the bartender not to give her the same stuff he gave me.”

Jacob opened his mouth to say something else but Shepard raised a hand to cut him off. “Doctor, how is she doing?”

Dr. Chakwas looked up from her work. She smiled. “Whichever of the two of you decided to bring her back here saved her life. She’ll be fine in a few days.”

“So,” Garrus asked, considering them, “which of the two of you decided to bring her back here?”

Kasumi de-cloaked just behind him. “Actually, that would be me. All these two could accomplish was arguing about it.”

Jack glared at Jacob. “If he hadn’t shown up and started yelling at me, I’d have brought her back here.”

“If she hadn’t been partying with you, she wouldn’t even be here!” Jacob retorted.

“You see my point,” Kasumi said, vanishing again.

“Goddamn…sons of bitches…” Zaeed muttered, rolling over in his sleep.

Dr. Chakwas considered him. “He will require the night to sleep it off, Commander.”

Shepard nodded. “Let’s clear the med bay and let them rest. We leave Omega in the morning.”

* * *

 

 

**THE MIGRANT FLEET**

“This is Tali Zorah vas Normandy nar Rayya, requesting permission to dock with the Rayya.”

“Permission granted. Welcome home, Tali Zorah,” a male quarian’s voice came through the speaker.

“We’d like a security and quarantine team to meet us. Our ship is not clean,” Tali continued.

“Understood. Approach exterior docking cradle 17.”

Joker began maneuvering the Normandy to the assigned dock. “Well, looks like we’re not flagged as Cerberus anymore,” he commented. “Too bad, that was a real cute secret password you guys have. What was it? Something about time spent among dust? Real high opinion of the rest of the galaxy the quarians have.”

“It’s a tradition we teach our children so that we can tell them apart from slave ships. Or Cerberus,” Tali explained. “It’s not ‘cute’.”

“It’s a little cute,” Shepard teased.

Tali sighed, and then groaned inside her helmet. “Ugh. Remind me _never_ to drink with Jack again.”

“I never thought I would have to tell anyone that a first time,” Shepard said, raising an eyebrow. Joker snorted.

EDI chimed in, “The past few days have been an interesting opportunity to witness the effects of alcohol poisoning on quarian physiology. I had begun to suspect the concept in humans was a myth.”

“That’s because you usually watch Shepard drink,” Joker pointed out. “She’s practically a krogan.”

“Thanks, Joker,” Shepard said.

“Well, Grunt does think you’re his mom, Shepard,” Tali teased.

Shepard shook her head, grinning. “When I’m in prison, I won’t miss you,” she lied.

Tali pulled Shepard in for a long, tight hug. “I won’t miss you either,” she agreed.

“Do I get a hug?” Joker asked.

“No,” both women said together.

* * *

 

**THE CITADEL – _Zakera Ward Markets_**

Shepard eyed her reflection in the changeroom mirror doubtfully. Of the dozens of dresses Miranda had forced her to try on, this had to be the worst. Shepard couldn’t imagine what Miranda had seen in the dress, it was a shade of silvery-green that brought to mind the various slime and moss Shepard had encountered in some of the less-hospitable planets the Normandy had visited. The sleeves of the dress were too long and tight, the material strained when Shepard moved her muscular shoulders and she heard a slight tear.

Immediately Miranda appeared behind her in the mirror, frowning. “Ugh, take it off quick, before you tear it and we owe 10,000 credits.”

Shepard’s eyes widened and she cast about her person for the price tag on the dress. “10,000 credits? Do you know how many rations and medical supplies we could purchase for the Normandy with that money! I can’t spend that on a _dress._ Especially not one as ugly as this one…”

Before Miranda could retort, the curtain that separated the changeroom from the rest of the store slid back, and both women heard a startled gasp. Shepard turned to face the newcomer, and found herself face to face with Ashley Williams, in civilian clothes and carrying a couple of dresses over one arm.

“Commander! You’re… dress shopping?” Ashley had clearly not been expecting the encounter, and Shepard noticed with some sadness that Ashley’s eyes were guarded, her arms moving to cross her chest.

“Uh…” Shepard had not exactly been expecting this encounter, either. Her eyes darted between Miranda and Ashley and her manners kicked in. “Ashley Williams, Miranda Lawson. Miranda Lawson, Ashley Williams. Miranda is responsible for my… second chance.”

Shepard had hoped to provoke a positive reaction from Ashley towards Miranda, but that did not turn out to be the case. Ashley narrowed her eyes at Miranda, “You’re with Cerberus, then?”

Shepard shook her head and said, “The Normandy and its crew have cut ties with Cerberus. I’m preparing to turn myself in to the Alliance for my actions, and Miranda thought I should dress the part.”

Ashley took a second to process this, and to consider Shepard’s outfit. “She chose that for you to wear in front of the brass?” Ashley rolled her eyes. “I’ve seen the way Cerberus lets it people dress, the Alliance has higher standards,” she directed this barb at Miranda.

Miranda, to Shepard’s astonishment, laughed. “To be honest, I _might_ have been taking advantage of the opportunity to see Shepard dress up.”

“Well,” Shepard said, “that explains the last fifteen dresses. This one in particular is _awful_.”

“Hey!” Miranda said defensively, “They weren’t all bad. I really liked the look of that last red one.”

Ashley eyed the pile of dresses haphazardly piled on a nearby chair. She hung her own items up before sifting through. “A few of these might work… this navy one, or… hmmm…”

“Oh great,” Shepard joked, “Now it’s Ashley’s turn to play ‘Let’s dress up Shepard in ridiculous outfits’.”

“Come on, Shepard,” Ashley laughed. “You know I’d never do that to you. If you’re really going in front of the brass to explain yourself, they have to see you in the best light possible.” She reached the end of the pile of dresses and stepped away, appearing unsatisfied. “A dress is the wrong-idea. You need a tailored suit. Blue with gold linings, like the kind Anderson and Hackett wear.”

“I hadn’t considered that,” Miranda admitted. “Possibly because I have no idea where to find an Alliance tailor.”

“Anderson gave me the name of his for…” Ashley trailed off, suddenly uncomfortable.

“Anderson did? For what?” Shepard asked.

Ashley looked at the floor, then up into her ex-Commanders eyes. “For my promotion. Lieutenant-Commander.”

Shepard grinned at her. “Your dad would be so proud.”

Ashley’s nervousness vanished with the appearance of her warm smile, the kind of smile Shepard hadn’t seen since they’d fought side-by-side. “Thanks, Skipper,” she said softly.

Miranda, oblivious as usual to other people’s emotions, said, “So do you have the number of that tailor?” She added as an afterthought, “Though I do know an incredibly talented asari seamstress, I’m sure she’s capable of replicating the Alliance design.”

Ashley said, “It’s still in my omni-tool.”

“How long will it take to have a suit custom ordered? I’m not sure I have the time to wait,” Shepard said doubtfully.

“He’s a friend of Anderson’s,” Ashley replied. “He finished my order in two days.”

“Is he here on the Citadel?” Shepard asked. Ashley nodded.

“Well, that’s settled then,” Miranda announced. “You’ll just have to stay on the Citadel a little longer than you planned.”

“But…” Shepard began, but Miranda cut her off.

“You need every advantage you can get, Shepard. We can’t have the Alliance locking you up over this nonsense with the batarians,” Miranda said sternly.

“I’m here on shore-leave for the next week,” Ashley added, “Maybe we could get drinks while we’re both here. If you’re sticking around.”

It was this that truly swayed Shepard. The idea of letting someone poke around her body after everything she’d been through with Cerberus was not a pleasant one, even if it was only a tailor measuring her for a suit. But Ashley was as much a part of her crew as any of them, and time with friends was becoming more and more precious.

Shepard grinned at her. “You’re on. Now if you two don’t mind, I’m getting the hell out of this ugly dress.”

* * *

 

 

**SILVERSUN STRIP – _Silver Coast Casino_**

Shepard had never really enjoyed gambling. Some might consider it gambling, the way she constantly threw herself into danger. Perhaps it was her familiarity with risking death that made risking credits seem so incredibly… tame.

She had to admit, the casino itself was beautiful. She had agreed to meet Kasumi here only to make her friend happy, expecting to be off-put by the atmosphere of the place, and the calibre of the people who frequented it. As Shepard stopped at the top of the stairs to the casino floor and admired the design of the room, Kasumi de-cloaked in her peripheral vision and crossed to meet her.

“This place reminds me of Hock’s house a bit,” Shepard said.

“Well, the man who runs it would probably have liked Hock,” Kasumi muttered darkly.

“Not an upstanding citizen, I take it.”

“Your typical greedy for power and anything else they can get type,” Kasumi said. “It’s why I love coming here. The people here are just _begging_ to be knocked down a peg.”

Shepard laughed with surprize. “Knocked down a peg?” she echoed in a lower voice. “You have something specific in mind?”

Kasumi grinned wickedly. “I was thinking of a game. We spend awhile scoping out the guests, identify the biggest assholes here, and maybe we leave with a few more credit chits than we came in with.”

Shepard shook her head, a small smile tugging at her lips. “It’s not exactly good form for an Alliance soldier or a Spectre.”

“That’s true, but right now you’re technically neither of those things. Right now, you’re a free agent. You just cut ties with Cerberus, and you haven’t actually made nice with the Alliance or the Council again yet…” Kasumi shrugged. “What do you say to spending the day as two perfectly ordinary and well-intentioned civilians?”

A year ago, or even a few months ago, Shepard would have said no, and dragged her friend out of the casino by the ear. But now? Before throwing herself at the mercy of a group who, frankly, had never done much for her, after being used by a group who she didn’t trust, and before the beginning of the war to end all wars?

“Well… I suppose the fight against the Reapers _could_ benefit from some large donations…”

“It’ll be the first legitimate charitable donations these people make in their lives,” Kasumi said with a grin.

 

* * *

 

 

 

**THE PRESIDIUM**

 

Shepard had never been to the Presidium so early in the morning. The artificial lakes had slight waves that lapped at the green shores, and without the typical hustle and bustle of the politicians and embassies, there was very little to detract from the peaceful atmosphere.

Thane sat cross-legged in the shade of one of the trees, and Shepard approached him as quietly as she could, unsure if he was meditating or perhaps lost in thought. Thane looked up at her with a warm smile as she lowered herself to sit beside him. “You came,” he said.

“Of course I did, even if this is a bit earlier than I usually get up.” She looked around at the empty and still Presidium. “It’s definitely worth it for the quiet.”

Thane nodded. “There is still peace to be found in the galaxy, if one only looks for it.” He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. “I had not thought to find any measure of peace in my life, after Irikah… I want to thank you Shepard. With Kolyat in my life again, and knowing that I have saved many more lives than I ever took… for the first time in over a decade, I’m… content.”

He opened his eyes when Shepard wrapped her hand around one of his. “You deserve it, Thane.”

 “As do you, siha.”

“You never told me what that means, you know,” Shepard accused.

He squeezed her hand. “I hope you and Garrus can find some happiness together. That’s what _you_ deserve.”

They fell into silence after that. The two of them sat side by side on the banks of the presidium, watching the waves, and enjoying a rare moment of peace.

* * *

 

 

 

**ARMAX ARSENAL ARENA**

Jacob was waiting for Shepard near the stairs to the changeroom when she arrived at the combat simulator that afternoon. “Shepard!” he called to her. “I’ve got our game all set up and ready to go. I figure we can shred the top score.”

“How’s this place work? Real weapons? What about the enemies?” Shepard asked.

“It’s a top-of-the-line combat simulator. Every detail is made to be as realistic as possible. We wear armour and carry guns, but the ammunition is all safe and we’re just shooting VIs,” Jacob explained. He threw an arm around Shepard’s shoulder and led her down the stairs to the change rooms. “Don’t worry, Shepard. I thought it would be fun to fight some geth together, since we never really have. You’ve had more than enough practice. We’ll top the score boards for sure.”

“Alright, Jacob. I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A recent replay of mass effect made me realize part of why I fell out of this fic: I hate Mass Effect 3. I hate almost every part of the plot, except for the Garrus romance. I think Garrus' character was handled amazingly, but I can't say the same for a lot of the rest. Why was Kai Leng treated like the main antagonist, instead of Harbinger? Why was Cerberus the entire focus of the game, and not the Reapers? Why are the asari the ones who don't go to the diplomatic peace talks, and end up paying for it in the end? Why do so many of your friends, and eventually Shepard, pointlessly die? It's a game filled with narrative sadism, and I just don't think I can handle following the plot as it was presented. Going forward into mass effect 3 will take a lot of thought, but I think it could also be really worthwhile to give myself (and possibly any of you who feel similarly) some goddamn closure with this franchise.


End file.
